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Elevated B12

damnyoureyes
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damnyoureyes Newbie
damnyoureyes
Posted

Hi everyone, newbie here!

I've never been diagnosed as celiac but have had digestive issues for most of my life - GP many years ago said it was irritable bowel syndrome, so a nice generic label for it. I've been taking B12 supplements (1000mg daily) for about 18 months now - they were prescribed after blood tests ordered due to fatigue came back low. I had my bloods done again last week because the fatigue improved slightly a few weeks after starting the supplements but has come back since, along with dizziness (I had vertigo for six months earlier this year), shortness of breath & palpitations. GP was concerned about aneamia, as it runs in my family, so she ordered full bloods & has also requested intrisic factor antibody tests to see whether I can absorb the B12 properly from tablets or whether I'd need injections. The IF test result hasn't come back yet, but my FBC came back normal except for slightly low VitD and elevated B12, so presumably anaemia isn't the cause of my symptoms. Some of the key results (as far as I understand them!) are...

*elevated* Serum vitamin B12: 1131 ng/L (Normal range: 187 to 883)

*normal* Serum folate: 3.7 ug/L (Normal range: 3.1 to 20.5)

*normal* Serum ferritin: 26 ng/mL (Normal range: 20 to 235)

*normal* Serum iron level: 13.9 umol/L (Normal range: 9.0 to 30.4)

Maybe it's a bit random that I'm asking about this here, but I'm trying to get as much info as I can before I go back to my GP to discuss the results (I'm due an ECG next week to check for any heart issues first) and celiac disease is something that has cropped up a few times in my research on B12, so I'm wondering whether elevated serum B12 after supplementing could be a possible symptom? Most things I've read are about B12 being low due to malabsorption, rather than being elevated, so I'm just trying to make some sense of it and figure out whether there are any tests etc that I should push for when I go back to my GP. Sorry if this didn't make any sense! (And FWIW, I eat pasta probably four times a week - white, wholewheat, spelt, but all gluten, so I'm very much on the oppostite of a gluten-free diet!)

Thanks for any insights :)

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trents Grand Master
trents
Posted

Welcome to the forum, @damnyoureyes!

Your elevated serum B12 levels are because you supplemented with B12 and would not be due to malabsorption from celiac disease. Malabsorption from celiac disease would give the opposite effect. Were you ever tested for B12 serum levels before you started supplementing with B12? I understand you were trying to find a solution for the fatigue you were experiencing but there can be many causes for fatigue besides B12 deficiency. 

Low vitamin D serum levels is a chronic problem in our modern world as most people live and work indoors. And, of course, if you live in a climate where there aren't many sunny days this is exacerbated. But certainly, low serum D levels is a classic symptom of celiac disease as well.

There are specific antibody tests for celiac disease and I suggest if you suspect you have this condition you request testing from your physician. You would need to be eating at least 10g of gluten daily for several weeks before the blood draw. That's the amount of gluten found in approximately 4-6 slices of wheat bread. If you decide to pursue celiac antibody testing, make sure you request your physician includes the "total IGA" test order along with the "tTG-IGA". Total IGA testing checks for IGA deficiency. If you are IGA deficient it will skew other IGA tests down toward the negative range and can create false negatives.

 

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

I think that there is enough evidence which shows that everyone with suspected IBS should also be screened for celiac disease. If you'd like references for this please see this category:
https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/celiac-disease-amp-related-diseases-and-disorders/irritable-bowel-syndrome-and-celiac-disease/

Wheatwacked Veteran
Wheatwacked
Posted

Too much B12 generally does not require treatment other than stopping or reducing the supplementation. Symptoms of too much B12 typically resolve in a day or two if oral supplements or injections are stopped or reduced.  

Liver andd kidney disease and IBS can cause high B12 and they are commonly comorbid with Celiac Disease.

All of your symptoms could be caused by gluten; Celiac Disease or Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.  Keep eating gluten and get tested.  Obiously your treatment of vitamin B12 worked.

When you say slightly low vitamin D, what number?  Are you slightly low less than 30 ng/ml?  If so that makes you deficient and should concern you.

If you low in B12 then other vitamins, not normally checked by doctors will also be low. B1, B2, B3, B5, choline, iodine.

https://www.celiac.com/articles.html/what-are-the-symptoms-of-celiac-disease-r1090

 

 

 

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